Miele – "A Quality Journey" To The Vacuum Cleaner Factories In Germany

In September 2014, I had the pleasure of joining 28 other Miele dealers from around the country on a trip to Miele’s vacuum cleaner factories in Germany.  The trip was literally called “A Quality Journey” by our hosts in Germany and it truly was.  Everything Miele does is first class whether it is the tour bus stocked with beer, the delicious meals or extracurricular activities we did in the afternoon.  Of course the manufacturing processes are first class as well and that’s what I want to share with you.

The first day was at their plant in Warendorf where they mold the bodies of the various vacuum cleaners.  What Miele does different from other manufacturers is use millions of color pellets that are melted then molded so the finished product is the same color through and through.  Most other vacuum manufacturers would mold everything in grey, for example, and then paint the plastic. When scratches occur in regular use, the undercoat color would show through.  There is potential fading and peeling issues that would not occur with a Miele vacuum.

While many of the assembly processes are automated, there are still humans are along the assembly line inspecting each step in production.  Every Miele canister vacuum is tested with a hose to insure that every vacuum we pull out of the box to assemble for you to purchase, is working perfectly.  Miele manufactures their own motor as well as other electronic boards to keep quality to the highest standard.

One of the highlights of our trip was each Miele vacuum dealer got to assemble an S7 Salsa Upright!

Every S7 upright is hand assembled – only the testing is automated.  This is a picture of me on the assembly line getting the process started.  It really speaks to the quality of Miele that each vacuum is completed from beginning to end by the same employee.  Because of the quality design and engineering, the components for each S7 upright can be assembled under 10 minutes.

One of the many impressive processes Miele incorporates is the continual testing of selected models off the assembly line.  Vacuums are pulled off the line randomly and put through a rigorous set of durability tests.  There are too many to mention here but feel free to ask me while in the store.

While vacuum cleaners were the highlight of the tour, we did get to see other appliances being manufactured as well including dishwashers and washing machines.  Much of their assembly is done by robots but each finished product is inspected by a highly skilled craftsman.

The gentleman I'm with is Dr. Markus Miele, the fourth generation company co-owner.  You may not be aware but Miele Inc. is the world’s largest family owned appliance company with over 16,000 employees and over $3 billion.  There is no ‘Mr. Hoover’ any longer but there is a Dr. Miele and he is reminded each day that his name is on everything they produce.  With that in mind, quality will not be compromised.  That should give you much satisfaction in owning (or purchasing) the product.

As a Miele vacuum cleaner dealer for almost 26 years, we have seen the many improvements made to the product.  As I tell customers regularly, Miele doesn’t try to ‘reinvent the wheel’ when they introduce new model series, they simply hold to their 114 year old motto, ‘Immer Besser’ or ‘Forever Better’ in English.  This makes for much higher performing, less troublesome product unlike many of their other Chinese or Mexican made competitors.

And here is the actual S7 that I assembled under the close eye of a supervisor.  It is being raffled off with the drawing on January 31st.  100% of the proceeds will be going to a charity or charities chosen by the winner from a list.  Stop into our store and see this signed Miele S7 and purchase a ticket.

Hardwood Floor Cleaning Tips

Maintaining your hardwood floors the easy way

Here's a set of Essentials For Clean Living™ tips.  

Taking care of your hardwood floors can be pretty easy if you practice some simple preventative measures and use the right products.  Please read these important tips so you can make – or keep – your hardwood floors looking great.  

Brookstone mat

One of the best things you can do is have a sturdy floor mat just inside all of your outside doors.  This catches the grit and other particles that do the most damage to your polyurethane finish.  In case you’re wondering if your floors have a polyurethane finish, the answer is YES.  Whether it’s oak, pine, cherry, bamboo, ‘engineered’ or laminate, they all have some type of urethane finish.  The only exception is if your flooring installer said to use tung oil or some other ‘wipe on’ oil-based product and that would be extremely rare.

Miele canister

The next tip is our favorite – vacuuming your floors regularly.  Yes, you can sweep or use a dust mop but they will always leave some abrasive particles behind.  When you walk on it, that could grind those small particles into the finish and dull it making it look ‘scuffed’.  If you take your shoes off as you enter the door – great! – but your body weight can still do damage the same way as shoes just not as quickly.  

Lastly, get liquids up immediately to prevent moisture damage to the floor.  We have new dog that drips large amounts of water out of his mouth after he drinks from the water bowl.  My wife, son and I are now trained to have the microfiber mop close by to immediately wipe up the puddles he creates. Perhaps you have a similar situation!

So what’s the best way to maintain them after you’ve gotten the dirt and pet hair off the floor? 

 You’re probably aware we sell the Bona brand and you may have been using it for years.  We have the cleaners for hardwood and stone/tile floors as well as the Refresher product for restoring the finish to a brand new look.  We’re glad to offer our expertise to your floor care questions.

We recommend that you not use the Bona Hardwood Polish.  It cannot be removed unless you buy the ‘remover’ that is sold only on Bona’s website.  It’s trying to be a shortcut product to the Refresher but it’s not necessary if your hardwood finish is already in good shape.

Introducing the Miele Scout RX1

Vacuum Cleaner Hospital is excited to introduce the all new robotic vacuum cleaner, Miele Scout RX1.  

Here are some of the great features: 

• The Scout covers every bit of open space by vacuuming in a parallel path rather than a crazy, chaotic path its competitors use.

• Cleaning multiple rooms are no match for the Scout, which can thoroughly clean for up to 2 hours  and then return to its recharging base.

• The sophisticated sensors and ceiling scanning camera insures that every square inch of open floor space is vacuumed and leaves no areas untouched.

• Miele robot vac has seven infra-red sensors on the front of the unit. These scan a 180° area ahead of the machine in order to avoid collisions with furniture and other obstacles. In contrast to most other common systems on the market, these sensors stop the vacuum cleaner well before a collision occurs. 
• Three further sensors below the unit prevent the Scout RX1 from falling down stairs.
• Equipped with 2 innovative side sweeping brushes and a high-efficiency suction motor, the Scout is very effective at giving you a thorough cleaning.
• An AirClean filter ensures clean room air. 

• Four cleaning programs. ‘Auto' mode, the unit travels through all rooms. 'Spot' mode is intended for a defined area. In 'Corner' mode, all rooms are first cleaned in 'Auto' before returning to clean all edge areas once again. 'Turbo' mode in which the robovac cleans the entire home but travels in straight lines with greater spacing. 
• The battery lasts an amazing 120 minutes. When cleaning larger areas, the unit pauses when needed to return to its base for recharging. 

The Scout does a great job navigating whatever floor or rugs it may encounter in your home.  It can easily tackle the edges of area rugs or thresholds that can stymie other robot cleaners.  If you want to exclude an area, simply place the provided magnetic strips on the floor or under a rug.  The Scout can even be programmed to clean while you’re away! Visit our Miele page.

Shopping Local Pays Forward

We all know that Amazon is the most powerful force in the online retail world and it's easy to see why:  convenient site layout, fast delivery times and a huge selection.  Amazon, as well as other sites, keep us 'on our toes' on a daily basis since we know if we don't have something in stock - you may buy it on Amazon and not come back to us for the same item again.  I have a good friend who rarely steps into a Chapel Hill store because he buys most things on Amazon for the convenience without thinking of the local impact.  I'm hoping you'll take a moment to think about the effect the local merchants-such as ourselves-have on worthwhile organizations.

Just recently, Project Graduation had a record contribution year from local merchants- and Vacuum Cleaner Hospital was a major contributor (more than $500 in services).  VCH also advertises in more than four different school yearbooks as well as give vacuum cleaner contributions to various charitable organizations.  We were a sponsor for Touch A Truck in April that benefited the UNC Children's Promise Fund.

I was thanked just a couple of weeks ago by a professor at UNC for our Dyson canister contribution to the Wesley Foundation last October.  This is all made possible because local residents continue to shop with us

While Amazon is super convenient, if we all do more with them, there will be fewer local merchants where you can go for helpful, friendly advice as well as the product right when you need it.  You may save a few dollars online but don't forget by buying local, you're keeping your sales tax dollars in your local counties as well as employing local people, not fulfillment packers in other states or countries.

Thanks again for shopping with your local merchants.

Allergy Sufferers - High Pollen Count Expected in 2018

Allergy experts are predicting a larger than normal pollen count this year.

Thanks to a colder winter, the allergy-producing plants and trees are ready to burst forth with an uncomfortable amount of pollen and other substances to make allergy sufferers miserable for a few weeks and even months. Besides taking anti-allergy medicine to ward off the symptoms, here are some other tips. Keep your house windows and doors closed as best you can. If you have outdoor pets, remember they can bring in pollen on their fur when they come inside. One way to combat this is to wipe them down with a damp cloth when they come in. Experts advise changing clothes and bathing once you enter the home at the end of the day. If pollen makes its way into your home, the best way to combat it is an effective vacuum cleaner. It may require vacuuming the walls
and window treatments as well.

Air purifiers are effective at reducing the indoor air pollutants. The most effective way to clean your home’s interior air is with a whole house HVAC filtration system. Vacuum Cleaner Hospital's Central Vacuum Experts division offers the IQ Air Perfect 16 system and quite simply, it’s the best on the market. They guarantee a 90% reduction in indoor air particles and no one else does that.  For those new readers of my blog, you may know that I installed one in my own home in January 2013.  The results were amazing so I made a You Tube video.

If you’re interested in learning more, email me at tom@vacuumhospital.com and I will be happy to answer your questions.

I do want to offer this advice to my readers, there is more mis-information about air purifiers on the Internet than anything else we sell.   Most people do considerable research before buying air purifiers and that’s great, just be aware that the companies recommending “the best air purifiers” probably have some business arrangement to promote one (or several) brands over another based on their profit
margin.  There are many brands out there and many just don’t live up to the claims they make so be wary!  We offer IQ Air and Austin and have sold several others that were more ‘economical’ but those two brands have been excellent over the years in reliability.

Why Central Vacuum Experts 2013 Was A Record Year

Home show season is just around the corner (Feb. 14 – 16) so it seems like the perfect time to recap 2013 in our central vacuum operation, Central Vacuum Experts.  We had a record year thanks to our participation in four home shows, better online presence, our professional installation & servicing team and great word of mouth.  We were awarded the 2013 Angie’s List Super Service Award winner and we accomplished that in 2012 as well.  Coupled with our reputation for quality installations and friendly customer service, we were able to achieve our best year ever in central vacuum installations.

The ACS Home Show is February 14 – 16 at the Raleigh Convention Center in downtown Raleigh.
One thing that sets us apart from most of our central vacuum competitors is doing existing homes and commercial installations.  We are able to do existing homes with no exposed pipes, no ‘opening up walls’ and minimal disruption to your daily routine.

Central Vacuum Experts provides a wide range of commercial central vacuum and indoor air quality solutions.  In 2013, we installed central vacuums in two hair salons in Wake County as well as Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Durham and at a surgical device manufacturer in Morrisville.  The commercial jobs had very specific needs and we worked closely with the builders to get the client exactly what they were looking for. For example, the requirements of the medical device manufacturing process demanded that metal piping be used.

Remember, the benefits of central vacuums; quietness, strong suction, no exhaust air in your living or work space, adds value and convenience make it a smart decision for any home or business!

Central Vacuum Experts growth & Vacuum Cleaner Hospital new products make 2013 a banner year

January is always a good time to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments and to thank those who made it happen, our loyal customers!  It was a record- breaking year for our central vacuum division, Central Vacuum Experts.  Besides a healthy increase in new construction installations, we also did several veterinary clinics and a surgical device manufacturer.

I want to mention that if you weren’t aware, we specialize in existing home central vacuum installations.  Other companies don’t want to touch this sort of installation but our CVE team has plenty of experience.

Vacuum Cleaner Hospital is always on the lookout for unique and interesting products to sell in the store.  It has to contribute to our philosophy of “Essentials for Clean Living®”.   In 2013, we added Moso Natural air purifying bags, the e-cloth - the world’s finest microfiber and the Spinning Mop, a better version than the “as seen on TV” mop.  With each of these products we have multiple sizes to help you make your home healthier and help you clean faster.

Our newest product is the Haan steam mop and we’re getting 2 different models.  One is straight-forward stick type and the other has a detachable hand steamer.  Haan is probably the best known brand of steam mop besides the Shark.  The big advantage – besides quality – is having us stand behind the unit for service and warranty.  The Shark brand, both steamers and vacuums, are only warranted directly from the company and just try getting through to customer service on the phone!

Without a doubt, the product I’m most excited about from 2013 and continuing into the future is Split!.  Take a moment to read about how this amazing cleaning product works. We are a distributor in Orange, Chatham and Durham counties. We have gallons and quarts for sale to clean tile, stone and carpet.  It truly does Split the dirt and grime on any hard to clean surface you can think of!